WWBD

"What would Buffy do?"

"Huh?"

"Buffy!"

I admit it. I arrived late to the game. When "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" started running on the former WB television station, I was working three jobs and watched almost nothing on TV because I didn't have time. As a single mother of teenagers, any spare time I had was devoted to keeping them from doing stupid things.

By the time "Buffy" ended its run, I was down to two jobs in a new city and state, going to college and wondering how I'd gotten so OLD...

But I was single again, the kids were grown and I started watching "Supernatural". That was probably the first place I heard a "Buffy" reference, and the only inkling I had about who they meant was on old--and not very good--movie from the early 1990s.

Frankly, I didn't much care what that Buffy would do.

It wasn't until about 2015 that I'd heard enough Buffy references on a variety of different television shows, books and other media to peak my curiosity and make me look into the show. By this time, it was easy to stream a whole series on platforms like Netflix and Hulu, and I started watching with low expectations.

To my surprise, once I started, I couldn't stop.

Odd that a plus-50s woman with grandchildren could be interested in a bunch of high school kids and vampires, but I was hooked.

And all the "What would Buffy do?" references on other television shows suddenly made sense to me.

Was I team Buffy/Angel or team Buffy/Spike? Did the storyline go too far with certain themes? Good Willow vs. Evil Willow? Willow and Oz or Willow and Tara? So many questions!

I was always entertained. Yes, there were scads of corny humor incidents. Yes, there were bad decisions in storylines. Yes, the nude underwear was blatantly visible in post-coital scenes, and yes, that made me laugh enough sometimes to pull me out of the story so I'd have to rewind the segment.

Flawed and funny. Heartbreaking--the death of--oh, wait. I arrived late to the game, which means others could, too. NO SPOILERS! Suffice to say that this show managed to evoke every emotion over the course of the series, and I liked it enough to move on to "Angel" after viewing the last episode.

As a big "Spike" fan, that wasn't a surprising move. Certain characters can get into your heart, and James Marsters brought the character to life and made me want to know more. Who was this sensitive soul, awkward youth and writer of bad poetry? Why was he a bad guy, when all he really wanted was love?

The thing that makes me a fan of any show is a storyline that compels me to dive in and search for the answers. Calling it a guilty pleasure doesn't deter me--I feel no shame in immersing myself in the fandom. I like fun as much as the next guy.

And, you know, as much as Buffy wanted to be just a silly cheerleader with everyday teenage girl issues to deal with, she led the way for young women of the era to embrace their bravery and their independence and realize that they didn't have to stand for anyone trying to control their destinies.

That's why I have recommended it as a guilty pleasure watch for my daughters and granddaughters. They're not too old or too young to learn the many answers to the question: "What would Buffy do?"

Neither am I.